USAID/Ukraine’s “Forged Together” campaign aims to show how Ukrainian volunteers find creative ways to overcome challenges caused by Russia's war, forging a stronger, more resilient Ukraine. Follow the #Forged_Together campaign @USAIDUkraine on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
The Ukrainian Leadership Academy is an educational platform supporting the personal and social development of Ukrainian youth. Supported by USAID, the Academy gives motivated teenagers the opportunity to participate in a year-long program which includes both educational activities and hands-on community social projects. By participating in the program, students learn to work as part of a team to achieve goals, plan and implement successful projects, and grow into responsible members of their communities.
We sat down with three of the Academy’s students who shared their volunteer experiences and their vision for Ukraine's future.
Mariia Shevchenko, 18, lives in Lviv. She credits the Academy with helping her become interested in volunteering.
“I attended the open day for volunteers hosted by Ukrainian Leadership Academy students. I was placed with a group that made camouflage nets and I really enjoyed myself,” she says. “I found my way to help Ukraine and met some amazing people.”
Now, Mariia is a student with the Ukrainian Leadership Academy. She volunteers at the Lviv Railway Station, helping displaced people coming from frontline and occupied areas.
“Often, they need to figure out what to do next after they arrive,” explains Mariia. “We inform them how they can get free transportation to get abroad, or stay somewhere overnight for free.”
Zhenya Andrusevych, 19, is from Khmelnytskyi. His volunteering experience is quite diverse: he has assembled first aid kits, organized mural painting in Chernivtsi, and has given lectures on feminism and its importance. Zhenya thanks the Academy for these accomplishments:
“It is an organization that not only develops teenagers physically, emotionally and intellectually, but also socially. Our goal is not just to talk about helping Ukraine, but to do it. We want to show that it is realistic, easy and quick to join in now.”
Andrii Tanich, 18, is from Kyiv. He says that thanks to the Academy, volunteering helped him find a place for himself in the larger society, and has been a source of self-realization opportunities in the form of various projects. Now Andrii is a member of Ukrainian Students for Freedom, Building Ukraine Together, Ukrainian Volunteer Service, and, of course, the Ukrainian Leadership Academy, where he implements most of his volunteer projects.
At the Academy, he has given a number of lectures to young people on various topics, launched charity projects to support military personnel in captivity, and coordinated students' volunteer activities.
Students of the Ukrainian Leadership Academy credit USAID with helping them make an impact. Andrii shares that:
“USAID is largely funding the initial program of the Ukrainian Leadership Academy. So, if it weren't for the funding, I wouldn't have studied here, improved my project skills, or set such ambitious goals as I have now.”
Ukrainian youth know they will build the future of their country. This group of volunteers spoke of their strategic vision for the future. Andrii sees Ukraine as a technological leader in the post-war world, and a nation of visionary entrepreneurs.
“These same people will build a civil society that everyone will follow,” he says.
And Zhenya dreams of a Ukraine where citizens are widely involved in volunteering and never get tired of this much-needed activity. He believes that this is the path to victory for his homeland.
